Why are nursing homes so short staffed all the time?

Because it is all about money. The owners make more money when they us less staff. I think this is one of the biggest problems in our society. People live all their lives and at the end of their lives they aren't even taken to the bathroom. Often residents who are unable to feed themselves are not fed. When a shoe store is staffed better than an institution that cares for human beings it is a sad commentary on our society Remember that you too will be old someday. (if your lucky)

Its because old people smell funny and crap there pants-who would want to work with them?

because most people dont like old people

Because it is very physically and psychologically demanding caring for older people, as well as not very well-paying.

It's a miserable job being surrounded by what your life will become, especially when you get paid $8/hr. I rather werk at McD's.

Because not many ppl want to go into health care, and because most nursing homes are run by for-profit corporations, and the easiest place to cut expenses is payroll.

It seems that homes don't want to hire staff that necessitates a higher wage. They just don't want to pay for a high quality staff. Geriatrics and elder care is a tough job and often goes unappreciated. Folks with the qualifications a nursing home needs have already found other jobs with better pay. Sad fact knowing that in the next 20 or so years, the baby-boomer generation will require those services.

well as an employee of a nursing home, it's because most do not pay well, they are very demanding as in the employer will call you on you day off to see if you can work, and it is a know fact the the nursing home have a high turnover, most cna's get training there and then move on to better higher paying jobs. it can be very difficult on you mentally and physically dealing with dementia and total care patients.

no one wants to see an older person on their last leg and they are so under paid.

Nursing homes are only required to have 1 RN on staff for each shift. Usually 12 hr. shifts too. The nursing home tends to hire LPN and nursing assistants to cover the reminder of the work to be done. According to federal guidelines the patient ratio for nursing homes is much higher(more patients per nurse) because of the amount of care that each patient needs. Most can do their own activities of daily living and only need help with meds,some mobility issues, and meals. The RN does the paperwork while the other two give meds and tend to other problems such as incontinence and turning or positioning patients if required. The expense is kept down with limited employees and the place makes more money. Depending on the illness and other problems with the patients, it does not require many staff to tend to the needs of the patients. It also requires special individuals to work in this setting because of the problems that were mentioned above. Knowing what to look for when you visit your loved one in the nursing home can tell you alot about the care that is given and if the staff is overworked or just lazy. Hope this helps!

nursing homes are short staffed all the time because by the time they get another person hired the previous one quits over frustration of shortness of help, therefore they dont give it enough time to become fully staffed, plus its not very good pay for wiping all those hineys, you truly have to love what you do..